Continued advancement in technology has enabled further miniaturization of the components required to build computer systems. This continued miniaturization has, in part, fueled the development of many of the new electronic products that are now available. A partial list of some of those newly developed products include palmtop computer systems, personal digital assistants or PDAs, electronic address books, electronic day planners, digital cameras, electronic picture frames, digital music players, digital telephones, and the like.
To support the miniaturization of the components and to remain within the physical properties of the newly developed electronic products, some of the components and functionalities equated with full-sized electronic devices have been reduced.
One of the components whose functionality has been reduced is the component used for communication between electronic devices. In one example, the component may have been a modem, either wired or wireless, such as one that is inserted in an expansion slot on the motherboard of a desktop or laptop computer system, and is therefore much too large for the diminutive size of the newer categories of electronic devices. In another example, the modem may have been a wired or wireless modem adapted as a PCMCIA (personal computer memory card international association) modem that requires an insertion slot that might be larger than the device into which it would have been placed. In yet another example, the component may have been an RF (radio frequency) wireless means of communication that because of, for example, a required antenna, is not a practical solution for the electronic device in which it would be placed.
To facilitate communication between such devices as those listed above, new classifications and categories of wireless communication have been developed. One such category that has been developed is Bluetooth technology. Bluetooth technology allows for the replacement of the many proprietary cables that connect one device to another with one universal short-range radio link. Additionally, Bluetooth technology requires substantially less power during operation, and, therefore, is well suited for implementation in the above mentioned diminutive electronic devices. For instance, Bluetooth radio technology built into both the cellular telephone and the laptop would replace the cumbersome cable used today to connect a laptop to a cellular telephone. Printers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computer systems, electronic picture frames, desktop computer systems, digital cameras, fax machines, keyboards, joysticks, and virtually any other digital device can be part of the Bluetooth system.
Another component whose functionality has been reduced is the hard drive. The hard drive is most commonly associated with the storing of data within an electronic system. A full-sized hard drive, which by today's standards has a physical dimension of approximately 3¼ inches wide by 5¼ inches long by 2 inches thick, is no longer a viable answer to the storage of data within an electronic device which has physical dimensions that are, in many instances, smaller in size than the hard drive itself
While the process of component miniaturization has also been applied to the devices utilized for data storage, and has, in part, created smaller and smaller hard drives, which may or may not fit within an electronic device, other means of data storage have also been developed. As such, new categories of media storage devices for electronic devices and computer systems have been created. One of the newer categories of media storage devices developed has been the compact memory device. The compact memory device is commonly referred to as an SD (secure digital card), an MMC (multimedia card), a memory stick, and the like.
The compact memory device (SD, MMC, or memory stick) is designed to be inserted into an electronic device through an opening in an accessible slot. It is adapted to store data, e.g., text based information, applications, and/or graphics. It is also well suited to store music files such as the new MP3 files. These new compact memory cards provide a means to add functionality and data storage capabilities to electronic devices while continuing to conform to the size of the electronic device. The advantage of having an electronic device configured with an accessible slot is so as to be able to use the compact memory devices to provide, for the electronic device, an almost endless array of different information and applications.
While the development of the compact memory device has overcome, in part, some of the above mentioned shortcomings, they are not without their own drawbacks. One such drawback is that, while the compact memory device has remained complimentary to the diminutive size of the newer electronic devices, it is the size of the memory device that is a drawback. Because the size of the memory device, a commensurately small accessible slot is needed in the electronic device, so much so that it may be difficult for some users to insert the compact memory device into the slot of the electronic device. Further, because of the diminutive size of the memory device, the size of the electrical connectors has also been reduced. As such, the connectors are more prone to incidental damage due to improper handling or being dropped. In addition, unless the memory device is correctly inserted into the accessible slot of the electronic device, the act of improperly inserting the compact memory device might damage the connector disposed within the electrical device and/or damage the connector of the compact memory device such that the electronic device and/or the compact memory device may become inoperable.
Additionally, once the compact memory device is fully inserted into the accessible slot, the compact memory device is commonly disposed such that a user must awkwardly attempt to remove the compact memory device, either by grabbing some small portion of the memory device or by using a fingernail or other type of edged object such as, e.g., a knife, to attempt to snag or pick the memory device for removal. To overcome this additional drawback, the manufacturer of the electronic device is required to provide a ejecting apparatus that would provide a mechanism to make the removal of the compact memory device easier for the user. Because some sort of release mechanism must be provided and that the mechanism would occupy a portion of the useable real estate within the electronic device, it is conceivable, that, as a compromise to the lost real estate of the electronic device, less functionality would be included in the electronic device. Further, the cost of mechanism would be passed on to the consumer, so as to increase the overall cost of manufacturing the electronic device and therefore increasing the purchase price of the electronic device.
Additionally, with the development of the compact memory device, numerous companies have developed their own product types. It should be noted that this is also another drawback because those different companies have created different compact memory devices that have different physical dimensions and different storage capacities. For example, one company's compact memory device is approximately the size of a postage stamp, having the dimensions of about 32 mm long by 24 mm wide by 2.4 mm thick. However, another company's compact memory device is the approximate size of a stick of chewing gum, having the dimensions of about 75 mm long by 20 mm wide by 2 mm thick. There are also other examples of compact memory devices manufactured by other companies that are of dimensions different from those listed above. As such, one type of compact memory device will rarely fit into a slot designed for another compact memory device.
Additionally, each compact memory device may have a varied amount of connecting pins and different pin configurations, such that, for example, the function of the number nine pin of one compact memory device may not be analogous to the function of the number nine pin of another compact memory device. In a further example, another compact memory device may have only seven connecting pins and not nine pins as the others mentioned previously. By virtue of the diminutive size of the electronic devices, providing an individual accessible slot for each available size and type of compact memory device and disposing those slots within an electronic device is not feasible.
Additionally, because most of the new electronic devices are equipped with one accessible slot, the user may use a compact memory device or a compact communication device. Unfortunately, because of this singularity of accessible slots, either a communication device or a compact memory device may be implemented at any given time. As an example, a user may have taken a set of pictures with a digital camera and had saved those photos using the storage capabilities of a compact memory device. Now the user wishes to upload those pictures wirelessly to a computer system. As such, the user removes the compact memory device containing the pictures and inserts into the slot a wireless communication device. The camera can utilize the wireless system to communicate with other devices so equipped, but because the compact memory device, which contains the pictures, is no longer in the slot, the wireless transference of those pictures to the computer is not possible. The transferring of the pictures would need to be accomplished through a wired connection, such as a serial interface, which would defeat the purpose of having wireless communication enablement.
Therefore, a user, when deciding upon which electronic device they will acquire, must also decide upon which type and size of compact memory card that is associated with the device they may be acquiring. For example, one type of electronic device may have certain functionalities and utilize a postage sized compact memory card, while another similar electronic device may have additional functionalities and utilize a chewing gum sized compact memory card. The user must therefore not only weigh the differences in functionalities between the electronic devices, but also weigh the availability of different functions and storage capacities that are available with the type of compact memory card utilized by that particular device.
Thus exists a need for an apparatus and method that is able to utilize compact memory devices. Additionally, a need exists for an apparatus and method which meets the above listed need and which provides for wireless communication. Further, a need exists for an apparatus and method that fills the above listed needs and that can provide enablement for both the wireless communication and the compact memory device while requiring a single externally accessible slot into which the communication device and the compact memory device may be laced.